Thursday, September 11, 2014

In previous versions of Oracle APEX (< 5.0) you could use Tabs for the navigation in your application.

Tabs were not that flexible, they were typical on top of your page in a specific look and feel. Since APEX 4.x I started to dismiss using Tabs in most of the cases, instead I would use a List with the "Page Tabs" template if people wanted that look and feel.

APEX 5.0 introduces the concept of a "Navigation List" that replaces the tabs. It's the same mechanism as before (a normal List which you find in Shared Components), but you can define in your User Interface which list to use as your Navigation List.

Go to Shared Components > User Interface Attributes:

Next in the User Interface section, click on Desktop (or the User Interface you want to adapt):

In the Attributes section you can define the List you want to use as "Navigation List"

Behind the scenes the Navigation List is put on the screen where the #NAVIGATION_LIST# token is specified in your Page Template.

The Navigation List is another example where APEX 5.0 makes common behaviour of developers more declarative and embedded in the product.

I think it's a great idea to have local meetups to meet other people working or interesting in APEX too. When you just start with APEX it's interesting to talk to other people how they got started. But equally for more seasoned developers it's a great place to share ideas and have discussions about where the product and industry is going, all casual and in a relaxed environment.

Previously with the Oracle BeNeLux User Group (OBUG) we created one day APEX events, which were great, but had a fixed schedule. The APEX meetups we want to do more frequently and accessible to everybody - a very low entry. We'll try to make all those meetups free-of-charge and flexible in nature. We'll have a presentation about a specific topic, but equally important (or even more important) is that you can network, have a voice and get some help of peers.

I talked to the OBUG board too and they found it an interesting idea and are happy to sponsor the event. We can enjoy pizza thanks to OBUG :)

Every local meetup can decide how they organise their meetup.

Here are the details of the first ORCLAPEX-BE meetup on September 11th (2014):

The first Oracle APEX meetup will go over the concept of the meetups and as first topic APEX 5.0 will be covered.

We'll have an "Open Mic" too, so anybody can get on stage for 5-10 minutes and show what they did or share their ideas or ask for some ideas where they struggle with.

The meetup is completely free.

Agenda

16.00 Registration

16.30 Outline concept APEX Meet-up

16.45 Presentation APEX 5.0

18.00 Pizza break, Networking and "Open Mic"

21.00 End

Interesting in Oracle APEX and in Belgium or around? Join the ORCLAPEX-BE meetup now!
Can't make the 11th? Make you a member of the meetup and receive updates when the next one is :)